CVE-2020-28124 in LavaLite
Summary
by MITRE • 04/15/2021
Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in LavaLite 5.8.0 via the Address field.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2021
The vulnerability CVE-2020-28124 represents a cross site scripting flaw discovered in LavaLite version 5.8.0, specifically affecting the Address field input handling mechanism. This issue arises from insufficient sanitization of user-provided data within the web application's address input functionality, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject harmful scripts into the application's response. The vulnerability manifests when users submit address information containing crafted malicious payloads that are subsequently rendered without proper encoding or validation, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of other users' browsers.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly escape or filter special characters in the Address field input. When the system processes user-entered address data, it does not adequately sanitize the input before storing or displaying it, enabling attackers to embed script tags, event handlers, or other malicious code constructs. This weakness directly maps to CWE-79, which defines the classic cross site scripting vulnerability where untrusted data is incorporated into web pages without proper validation or encoding. The vulnerability operates by leveraging the trust relationship between the web application and its users, allowing attackers to manipulate the application's behavior through carefully crafted input that bypasses security controls.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a range of malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, and privilege escalation. An attacker who successfully exploits this vulnerability could potentially steal session cookies, impersonate legitimate users, access sensitive information, or modify data within the application's address management system. The attack surface is particularly concerning as address fields are commonly used throughout web applications and often contain personal information that users trust to be handled securely. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1531, which covers the use of malicious code in web applications, and T1059, which involves the execution of code through command-line interfaces that could be leveraged through the XSS payload.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-28124 should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the LavaLite application. The primary remediation involves sanitizing all user inputs, particularly those destined for display in web pages, through proper HTML encoding of special characters such as angle brackets, quotes, and script tags. Organizations should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution and establish proper input validation routines that reject or sanitize potentially dangerous characters before processing user data. Additionally, developers should employ parameterized queries and proper escape sequences when handling address field data, ensuring that any user-provided information is treated as untrusted and validated against expected formats. The application should also implement proper session management controls and consider implementing additional layers of security such as CSRF tokens to further protect against exploitation attempts. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other input fields and application components.